Foreign registered vehicles to pay charges at borders

The Road Fund Administration (RFA) has been collecting cross-border charges and mass distance charges from foreign registered vehicles entering Namibia at its official border posts since the first of this month. The RFA made use of agents to collect these funds before. According to Andreas Helmich, acting CEO of RFA, the company’s board instructed officials of the RFA to carry out the collection of cross-border charges (CBCs) and mass distance charges (MDCs), as it will no longer be done by agents.The Road Fund Administration Act of 1999 authorises the RFA to collect CBCs from every foreign-registered vehicle and MDCs on all vehicles carrying above 3500 kg from foreign countries that enter and utilise Namibia’s road network temporarily. The new collection system will ensure that each and every foreign vehicle pay their fair share for using Namibia’s roads from now on. This will bring about greater accountability and transparency, as the RFA will now have direct control over the collection of these Road User Charges, the company said in a statement. Also, with a much more effective and controlled way of collection, bigger revenue will be accumulated for the upkeep of Namibia’s road network and huge savings will be possible, Helmich emphasised.The RFA, according to its enabling Act, is mandated to manage the Namibian Road User Charging System in such a manner as to secure and allocate sufficient funds for the achievement of a safe and economically efficient road sector. The RFA also manages the Road Fund into which the Road User Charges are accrued. Funding is allocated mainly to projects and programmes for the preservation and development of the national road network and major urban arterials, contributions towards the maintenance of urban roads, traffic information, law enforcement, adjudication and safety, and road research.The Road User Charges collected are: licence fees, fuel levies, mass distance charges, cross-border charges, abnormal load fees and overloading fines.The company called on the owners and operators of foreign-registered vehicles to visit the offices of the RFA to complete the required forms, pay and obtain permits in compliance with the requirements of CBCs and MDCs when entering Namibia. Officials of the RFA will ensure that each and every foreign-registered vehicle adheres to the payment of CBCs and MDCs and are in possession of the requisite permits.Offices of the RFA are situated at the border posts of Noordoewer, Ariamsvlei, Sendelingsdrift, Velloorsdrif, Aroab, Mata Mata, Buitepos, Oshikango, Mahanene, Katwitwi, Mohembo, Windhoek, while in the cases of Ngoma and Wenela the RFA office in Katima Mulilo should be visited. Helmich reiterated that all foreign-registered vehicles are obliged to have a CBC permit while vehicles with a carrying capacity above 3500 kg should posses a MDC permit, which would be based on the distance the vehicle would travel within Namibia. Owners and operators of heavy vehicles should see to it that they correctly record the distances travelled, to be indicated on the MDC permit/form and also to be recorded in the logbook of a vehicle.The rates for CBCs and MDCs will be available in pamphlets at the border posts or on the RFA website: www.rfanam.com.na.